William Byron more excited for NASCAR’s newest venue than Chicago street race

After William Byron had an early look at the new street race in Southern California, he admitted to feeling more excited about it than the Chicago street race. Byron argued that San Diego feels more welcoming to the high-octane and bustling racing of NASCAR compared to the Windy City.

During his visit, Byron filmed a military-themed promotion with other NASCAR drivers on the Naval Base Coronado, where the new street race will be held. The San Diego weekend is slated to become NASCAR's second street race, succeeding Chicago, which introduced this type of event in 2023.

Driving the #24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet, William Byron only had one top-10 finish in three starts on the streets of Chicago. His last start, which happened earlier this month, saw him exit the race as early as the third lap due to a clutch issue.

Frontstretch shared Byron's thoughts on the two street races ahead of the Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

“It's awesome. I think it's a big deal. I got really excited when we went there, promoted it, and did that video. I was actually really excited about the race when I left, and during, just like, ‘Man, this is going to be... if it pans out the way it looks, it's going to be amazing’,” Byron said. [1:52] “I'm definitely more excited about that than Chicago. Chicago's a great event, but it seemed, at times, some of the people there didn't necessarily buy into it, and I feel like San Diego, everybody there is going to be bought into,” he added.

The 27-year-old NASCAR driver concluded:

“It's just going to be an exciting summer event, so I'm pretty pumped for it.”

The inaugural San Diego weekend will take place next year from July 19 to 21. While the track layout is yet to be disclosed, all three NASCAR national series (Cup, Xfinity, and Craftsman Truck) are scheduled to race on the Naval Base Coronado.

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“It sucks”: William Byron on losing the top-seed due to a late crash at Dover

William Byron described his race at Dover Motor Speedway last week as a “tough one”. He was involved in a three-way crash with Christopher Bell and Noah Gragson on the frontstretch with eight laps remaining, allowing his Hendrick Motorsports teammate Chase Elliott to take the top seed in the standings from him.

The #24 Hendrick Motorsports driver said (via Jayski's):

“Last weekend (was) a tough one. We ran basically in the top five all day just to get involved in someone else’s mess at the end. It sucks, but we have to move on and focus on Indy now.”

William Byron drives the #24 Chevrolet Camaro for Hendrick Motorsports - Source: Imagn

After the Dover race, William Byron is 16 points behind Chase Elliott, who has zero DNFs so far this year. Kyle Larson is third in the standings ahead of Denny Hamlin and Tyler Reddick. Completing the top 10 are Christopher Bell, Ryan Blaney, Chase Briscoe, Alex Bowman, and Chris Buescher.

Byron is a playoff-bound driver after winning his second Daytona 500 earlier this year. He has also amassed two pole positions, seven top-fives, and 11 top-10s.

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Edited by Tushar Bahl